Numbering stamp for printing machines



-'Feb. s, 1944.

B. lEURNHAM NUMBERING STAMP FOR PRINTING MACHINES Filed Oct. 3, 1941 2 Shees-Sheet 1 INVENTOR ,ZM M/ 411/ 'A TTORNE Ys Feb; 8, 1944. B. BURNHAM 2,341,361

1 NUMBERING STAMP FORA PRINTING MACHINES Filed Oct. 3, 1941 l 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 1 i i L@ 2'1 f Fig-4 a/ V1 ,t e ff 3 361" 38 55 i D l:

a2 El 56 44 30 au y 47 33 :u: if' sa 42 44 55.7 43 s v 3.9 s |11' 9 /fu 3/ Q7-l /1 T'l ORNE YS Patented Feb. 8, 1944 NUMBERING STAMP FOR PRINTING MACHINES.

Bradshaw Burnham, Rochester, N. Y., assigner to Eastman Kodak Company, Rochester, N. Y., a corporation of New Jersey Application iOctober 3, 1941, Serial No. 413,468

2 Claims. (Cl. 101e-301) This invention relates to photographic printing machines and rmore particularly to numbering stamps with which an identifying number may be stamped on the print simultaneously with the printing.

It has been exceedingly difcult with the various methods now in use for stamping identification numbers onphotographic prints, simultaneously with the printing, to obtain a ligure which is legible and at the same time does not emboss the. paper. Also, the repeated use of the stamp in many cases causes a small amount of looseness to develop in the bearings which gives the stamp an angular instability which does not maintain the stamp at the proper angle to the paper. With respect to such faults, my invention has proved an improvement over existing printing stamps, in that once the stamp is adjusted to its proper printing position, a small amount of 1ooseness in the linkage used will cause less angular instability, and the long inter-pivot distance, especially in the printing position, is helpful in maintaining the stamp at the proper angle to the paper at all times.

One object of my invention is to provide a stamp that is readily adjustable to its printing position. Another-object is to provide a stamp that at all times maintains its proper printing relationship to the paper. A further object is to provide a stamp which is movable from an inking to a printing position with the platen. A still further object is to provide a stamp which may be rotated from an inking to a printing position with as few parts as possible. Other objects will appear hereinafter from the following specication, the novel features being pointed out in the claims at the end thereof.

Coming now to the drawings wherein like reference characters denote like parts throughout.

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a portion of a printing machine and showing a stamp constructed in accordance with a preferred embodiment of my invention in the inking position;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of that portion of the printing machine concerning my invention in which the respective parts are shown in the inking position;

Fig. 3 is a side elevation similar to Fig. 2 in which the respective parts are shown in the printing position;

Fig. 4 is a top plan View, on an enlarged scale of the stamp operating mechanism;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged partial sectional view of the stamp advancing mechanism;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged side elevation view of the stamp as it. appears in the inking position.

Fig. 'lis an'enlarged side elevation view of the stamp as.it` appears in the printing position.

. For the. purpose of illustration, I have shown in Fig. l asr atypical printing machine to which my invention may be applied, a printer fully andV completely described in Patent Number 2,033,712, to R. S. Hopkins, dated March 10, 1936, and only so much'oi the printer as applies to the present invention will be herein described.

The printer comprises a cabinet I mounted on the angular member 2 which is securedv to a suitable mount or tabletop 3. The cabinet I has a printing surface 4`for the paper P and a suitable aperture 5 whichV is covered by the mask 6 when the machine is not in operation. A platen 'l is pivotably secured to the arms 8 and 9 of the bellcrank levers I and II, respectively, to hold the paper in position over the aperture during the printing operation. The mask 5 is pivotably secured to the other arms I2'and I3 of the bell crank levers I o and II and moved out of the masking position, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, to that shown in Fig. 3 as the platen l is brought into paper contacting position.

The operating handle I4, pivoted on the cabinet I at I5, is connected through the levers I6 and I'I to the shaft I3 onwhich the bell crank levers IU are xed. As the operating handle I4 is moved downward, the shaft I8 is rotated counter-clockwise, and likewise, the bell crank levers I0 and II to bring the platen 1 into a paper engaging position on the printing surface 4 and to remove the mask 6 from the aperture 5. On releasing the operating handle I4, the spring I9 on the shaft I8 returns the parts to their respective positions, as shown in Fig. l. As the operating handle nears the end of its downward movement, a contact screw 2o actuates the printing lamp switch 2I, and the lever 22 fixed to the shaft I8 together with the cable 23 removes the spring retained translucent mask 24 from the aperture 25 in the table top 3 to permit the light from the printing lamp to reach the sensitized paper P on the printing surface il. The negative together with the negative holder, the printing lamp, and the optical system has not been shown, since it forms no part of the present invention.

Coming now to the invention, on the platen l is mounted a support member 3U having upstanding ears 3I that form a support for the stamp designated broadly as 32. The stamp 32 consists of three' wheels of numerals 33, as shown in Fig. 4, with a manual advancing lever 34,

stud 44 is xed to a second arm 4'5 which is mounted on the bridge member v46, carrying an inking pad 41, and engages the slot 43 to provide the pivot about which the arm 42 is rotated as the stamp 32 is moved from an inking to a printing position.

As shown in Figs. 2, 4, and 6, the stamp 32 is in the inking position with the armsv 42 and 45 parallel to each other. As the operating han.. die I4 is moved downward and the bell crank levers I and Il move the platen 1 into paper contacting position, the arm 42, attached to the plate 39 on the member 35, is rotated about the stud 44 together with the stamp 32 until in the paper contacting positionthe arm 42 is at rightv angles, or substantially so, to the arm 45, as shown in Figs. 3 and 7. A cut out portion 5U in the platen 1 and 5| in the support member 30 allows the stamp 32 access to the paper P for printing the designated numeral thereon. The various parts are then returned to the position shown in Fig. 2 by the spring I9.

The stamp 32 is adjusted with respect to the paper, as shown in Fig. '1, by three threaded nuts 55 on the studs 55 carried by the platen 1. Two washers 51 and a spring washer 58 are provided between the platen 1 and the support member 30 for obtaining the correct relationship between the stamp and the paper. Any further adjustment is then compensated for by either tightening or loosening the threaded nuts 55. It can be readily appreciated, by referring to Fig. rI, that any looseness that may become apparent between the slot 43 and the stud 44 will not affect the position of the stamp 32 due to the long inter-pivot distance.

I claim:

1. In a photographic printing machine having a sheet supporting surface, the combination with y a frame, a platen having a sheet engaging surface, a parallelogram linkage, including a pair of arms pivotally connected in spaced relation to said frame and platen and movably supporting said platen in parallel relation to said sheet supporting surface, a support on said platen, a stamp assembly pivotally mounted in said support for movement about an axis and having a type surface, and a support arm on said frame and over said sheet supporting surface, of an operating arm xed to said stamp assembly but slidably and pivotally connected to said support arm and for rotating said stamp assembly from an inking position to a printing position when said platen is moved to engage a sheet on said sheet supporting surface, the distance from the pivotal connection on said support arm to the pivotal axis for said stamp assembly being several times the distance from said axis to the type surface of Said stamp assembly,

2. In a photographic printing machine having a sheet supporting surface, the combination with a frame, a platen having a sheet engaging surface, a parallelogram linkage, including a pair of arms pivotally connected in spaced relation to said frame and platen and movably supporting said platen in parallel relation to said sheet supporting surface, a support on said platen, a stamp assembly pivo-tally mounted in said support for movement about an axis and having a type surface, and a support arm on said frame and spaced above said sheet supporting surface a distance greater than the length of the arms of said parallelogram linkage, of an operating arm xed to said stamp assembly but slidably and pivotally connected to said support arm and for rotatingv ing position with respect to the sheet engaging.

surface of said platen.

BRADSHAW BURNHAM. 

